Friday, March 22, 2013

Most Meritorious Player: 1980 Ballot

For 1980, each voter should rank their top 13 players from both leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EST on 04 April 2013.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 03 April 2013.

Reader Comments and Retorts

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1. George Brett, 3B, Kansas City Royals: simply a dominating season with 203 OPS+, 135 runs created and +9 runs on defense2. Mike Schmidt, 3B, Philadelphia Phillies: dominates the senior circuit with +11 fielding runs and league-leading numbers in OPS+ and runs created3. Steve Carlton, P, Philadelphia Phillies: easy 1-2-3, first in ERA+ with 162 and first in innings pitched with 3044. Mike Norris, P, Oakland Athletics: big gap from Carlton to Norris but Norris leads the rest of the pack with 149 ERA+ in 284 innings5. Cecil Cooper, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers6. Ben Ogilvie, LF, Milwaukee Brewers: two big bats (155 and 153 OPS+ respectively) combined with positive contributions from the field (+8 and +13 fielding runs)7. Ted Simmons, C, St. Louis Cardinals: my system loves full-time catchers who can hit (140 OPS+)8. Rickey Henderson, LF, Oakland Athletics: top ten in OPS+ with even greater contributions on the basepaths and in the field (+18 fielding runs)9. Keith Hernandez, 1B, St. Louis Cardinals: great defense (+12 fielding runs) and a great bat (147 OPS+)10. Reggie Jackson, RF/DH, New York Yankees: time at DH drops Reggie below Keith, Rickey and Ted but a 172 OPS+ is still good enough for most ballots11. Gary Carter, C, Montreal Expos: another catcher who can hit (126 OPS+) though Carter has the much better glove (+13 fielding runs)12. Larry Gura, P, Kansas City Royals: 2nd best pitcher in the AL with 136 ERA+ in 283 innings13. Robin Yount, SS, Milwaukee Brewers: Yount sneaks into the coveted final ballot slot ahead of Wilson, Randolph, Sutton and McGraw

Super close in my system between Brett and Schmidt... Also really close between Carlton and Henderson for 3rd.
And, although he JUST missed my ballot (in 14th) it's good to see Mike Norris get the love in the various posted prelims (and Chris Fluit's ballot above). 1980 was my first year following baseball and (living in San Jose at the time) Steve Stone's narrow Cy Young victory over Mike Norris was pretty darn controversial.

1) Mike Schmidt - only due to playing time and league adjustments. Brett had better rate stats.
2) George Brett - These are some impressive rate stats
3) Steve Carlton - These three were ahead of the pack and the postseason only puts them more ahead of the pack
4) Rickey Henderson
5) Mike Norris - Had no idea that he had a season this good
6) Willie Wilson
7) Britt Burns - Another surprise pitching season
8) Willie Randolph
9) Gary Carter
10) Robin Yount
11) Keith Hernandez
12) Ben Oglivie
13) Larry Gura - Strong postseason gives him the last ballot slot

1. George Brett. ML position player WAR leader. Top ML OPS+ by far.
2. Steve Carlton. Top ML pitcher. ML WAR leader.
3. Mike Schmidt. Top NL position player. ML WS leader, but Brett had better rates.
4. Gary Carter. Led NL in games caught (149), and majors in PA for a catcher, with a
126 OPS+, excellent defense, and 101 RBI (don't worry, the RBI had no role in the rating).
5. Willie Randolph. Top ML 2B, by far. In top 10 in ML offensive winning %.
6. Rickey Henderson. Top ML LF.
7. Reggie Jackson. 2nd in majors in OPS+, even ahead of Schmidt; his merit is reduced by missing nearly 20 games.
8. Mike Norris. Top AL pitcher. The IP were valuable, but, in retrospect, may have been career-destroying.
9. Robin Yount. Top ML SS.
10. Al Bumbry. Top ML CF.
11. Willie Wilson. Unusual season by traditional stats; comprehensive stats show the value
of his average, baserunning, and defense.
12. Larry Gura. Next-best SP.
13. Don Sutton. ML leader in ERA (2nd when park-adjusted).

Here’s Brock Hanke’s 1980 ballot. It’s the normal methodology – compare Win Shares and WAR rankings and then try to resolve conflicts, give post-season credit, things like that. This year, there was more consensus between the two uberstats than normal, because WAR, which usually includes several pitchers on the ballot (by which, I mean ranked among that system’s top 25, because I need to dig that deep to get marginal cases), only has two ranked seriously high: Steve Carlton and Britt Burns. Win Shares has Carlton lower than WAR but nowhere near off the ballot. It doesn’t have Burns on the ballot, but WAR has Burns so high (8th overall), that I included him at the end of my ballot. The same thing for Reggie! Jackson, who isn’t on WAR’s ballot, but ranks #7 by Win Shares. I included those two at the bottom of my ballot, just because they ranked so high in one system. I don’t always do that; this is kind of an experiment for me.

Mike Schmidt and Willie Randolph got postseason credit. George Brett and Steve Carlton got BIG postseason credit. I moved Randolph and Carlton up a little. Brett had nowhere to go, having already finished first; Schmidt could not leapfrog Brett, because he had less postseason credit than George did. Gary Carter and Ted Simmons got catcher bonuses, which moved Carter up a bit and landed Simmons the last spot on the ballot. If I’ve shafted anyone, it’s Dwayne Murphy, Cecil Cooper or Robin Yount. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the ballot.

1. Mike Schmidt
2. Steve Carlton
3. George Brett - Brett may have been the best player on a rate basis, but the lower playing time drops him below the two Phillies. Carlton is easily the best pitcher of the year.
4. Ben Ogilvie - This season really took me by surprise. We're starting to get into players that I saw play, but Ogilvie is a new revelation for me.
5. Al Bumbry -Best CF
6. Robin Yount - Best SS
7. Mike Norris - Best AL pitcher
8. Rickey Henderson - Rickey! makes his name
9. Frank White - Best 2B, including a fairly strong postseason
10. Willie Randolph
11. Gary Carter - Best C. Good defense, strong hitting season.
12. Cecil Cooper
13. Willie Wilson - Very interesting player. Good season, including playoffs.